A gunman armed with an AR-15 opened fire inside a skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue on Monday, 28 July, killing NYPD Officer Didarul Islam and four civilians before taking his own life, bringing the death toll to five, according to city officials. The attack marked the deadliest workplace shooting in New York City in more than a decade and has intensified scrutiny of office-tower security across Midtown Manhattan. Democratic-socialist Zohran Mamdani, the front-runner in this year’s mayoral race, visited Islam’s family and later held a press conference where he urged Congress to impose a nationwide ban on assault rifles, saying current federal gun laws leave urban offices vulnerable to similar attacks. Prediction markets put his chances of winning City Hall at roughly 78%. Mamdani also sought to distance himself from earlier calls to "defund" the NYPD, declaring he is "not running to defund the police" while reiterating that the department’s Strategic Response Group, criticized for its protest tactics, should be replaced with a new emergency unit. The recalibration underscores how the Midtown shooting has reshaped the political debate over public safety ahead of the November election. Mayor Eric Adams condemned the violence and said the tragedy shows that "you don’t use violence to address your corporate concerns." Meanwhile, real-estate managers report that some tenants are considering metal detectors, panic buttons and additional armed guards, though security consultants expect the momentum for costly upgrades to fade as memories of the attack recede.
NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani calls for a Nationwide ban on Assault Rifles. https://t.co/y5l2NnEEsO
New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani spoke out against national gun laws during a press conference to honor NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who was killed along with three others when a gunman opened fire inside a Manhattan skyscraper https://t.co/2thhTQ60x9
Frustrated Midtown execs admit uncertainty of how to keep employees safe after shootings https://t.co/T92wMfgSsK https://t.co/3nszbTp2dc